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4. AVIATION
This section summarizes the aviation system in South Carolina. As is typical throughout the U.S., South
Carolina’s airport system is owned by both public and private entities located throughout the state.
The system consists primarily of commercial and general aviation facilities, with two reliever airports,
and supports all types of aviation needs. The six Primary Commercial Service airports include Hilton
Head, Charleston AFB/International, Myrtle Beach International, Florence Regional, Columbia Metro,
and Greenville Spartanburg International, which provide passenger air transportation vital to the
economy of South Carolina.
4.1 STATE AVIATION AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES Aviation in South Carolina is overseen by the South Carolina Aeronautics Division whose mission is
“Fostering air commerce by overseeing the safety and development of the state's public use airports and providing safe, reliable air transportation for state government and business prospects”.
4.2 AIRPORTS South Carolina has 53 airports included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS).
The NPIAS identifies 3,380 existing and proposed airports that have been deemed “significant to
national air transportation” and thus are eligible to receive Federal grants under the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) Airport Improvement Program (AIP). Of the 53 airports, 6 are Primary
Commercial Service airports, 45 are general aviation facilities, and 2 are reliever airports, defined by
the FAA as high‐capacity general aviation airports in major metropolitan areas that provide pilots with
attractive alternatives to using congested hub airports.
4.3 PASSENGER SERVICE It is important to note that many forecasts and expectations have changed significantly in the last few
years due to the economic downturn and the aviation industry was not immune. Some notable
caveats that need to be mentioned include the following:
Southwest Airlines started service in Charleston and Greenville‐Spartanburg in early 2011. The addition of this service has had noticeable impacts at these airports.
According to South Carolina Division of Aeronautics, there is a general trend of reductions in the
use of smaller regional jets seating 50 passengers or less in favor of larger jets that carry more
passengers per flight and thus do not require as many flights per day to serve the need – where it
is economically feasible, of course. There is some concern that if this trend continues service may
be lost in some locations where smaller regional jet service is cut and it isn’t deemed economically
feasible to provide larger jet service.
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It is important to note that the economy took a significant turn in 2008 and there has been an
impact on the aviation industry since then. The data taken from the SC Airports System Plan of
20087 was based on assumptions developed prior to the economic downturn and therefore may be
more optimistic than current trends and general consensus.
In 2011 the commercial service airports accommodated almost 3.65 million enplanements, up from
almost 3.2 million in 2010, though as shown in the chart below there were some significant changes in
enplanements from 2010 to 2011 at four of the six airports. Figure 4‐1 details the 2010 and 2011
enplanements at the six primary commercial airports in South Carolina. Airport locations throughout
the state are shown in Figure 4‐2.
Figure 4‐1: Enplanements at the Six Commercial Airports in South Carolina
Source: South Carolina Aeronautics Commission Website – Airport Data
Table 4‐1 provides an inventory of all passenger airlines operating at each airport. These airlines
provide direct flights to major cities, as shown in Table 4‐2, including hub airports where connections
can be made to multiple destinations.
The six primary commercial service airports provide business and leisure travelers with a quick means
of access to many of the large east coast and mid‐west cities, as well as dozens of other destinations in
the U.S., which provide access to most other markets both domestic and international.
7 South Carolina Airports System Plan, prepared for the South Carolina Department of Commerce, Division of Aeronautics by Talbert & Bright, Inc., 2008.
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
1,400,000
ColumbiaMetropolitan
Airport
Florence Regional Myrtle Beach CharlestonAFB/Int'l
GreenvilleSpartanburg Int'l
Hilton Head
2010 2011
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Figure 4‐2: Map of Airports in South Carolina
Source: SCDOT
20
26
26
95
95
85
Savannah
Charlotte
Columbia
PAGELAND
TWIN CITY
RIDGELAND
AIKEN MUNI
LEE COUNTY
SUMTER MUNI
EAST COOPER
CHERAW MUNI
ANDREWS MUNI
GRAND STRAND
CHESTER MUNI
MARION COUNTY
DILLON COUNTY
SALUDA COUNTY
NEWBERRY MUNI
PICKENS COUNTY
WOODWARD FIELD
BAMBERG COUNTY ST GEORGE MUNI
LAURENS COUNTY
WALTERBORO MUNI
ORANGEBURG MUNI
HARTSVILLE MUNI
BARNWELL COUNTY
MARLBORO COUNTY
ANDERSON COUNTY
BEAUFORT COUNTY
BERKELEY COUNTY
GREENWOOD COUNTY
FAIRFIELD COUNTY
ALLENDALE COUNTY
LEXINGTON COUNTY
DONALDSON CENTER
GEORGETOWN COUNTY
DORCHESTER COUNTY
DARLINGTON COUNTY
CONWAY‐HORRY COUNTY
GREENVILLE DOWNTOWN
WILLIAMSBURG COUNTY
CHARLESTON EXECUTIVE
CLEMSON‐OCONEE COUNTY
SANTEE COOPER REGIONAL
SPARTANBURG DOWNTOWN MEMORIAL
UNION COUNTY, TROY SHELTON FIELD
LANCASTER COUNTY‐MC WHIRTER FIELD
HILTON HEAD
MYRTLE BEACH INTL
FLORENCE REGIONAL
CHARLESTON AFB/INTL
COLUMBIA METROPOLITAN
GREENVILLE‐SPARTANBURG
COLUMBIA OWENS DOWNTOWN
ROCK HILL/YORK CO/BRYANT FIELD
95
26
85
77385
20
Georgia
North Carolina
0 25 5012.5Miles
At l a
n t i cO c e a nLegend
Primary
Reliever
General Aviation
Parks
Cities
US Highway
Interstate
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Table 4‐1: Passenger Carrier Inventory
Passenger Airline
Columbia Metropolitan
Airport
Florence Regional Airport
Myrtle Beach International
Airport
Charleston AFB/
International
Greenville Spartanburg International
Hilton Head Island Airport
American Eagle x x x
Delta x x x x x
United Express x
Piedmont/US Airways x
Continental x
Allegiant(1) x x x
Vision Air(2) x
US Airways x x x x x
Porter Airlines x
Spirit x
United Airlines x x x x
American Airlines x
Southwest Airlines x x
Source: Airport websites. Notes: (1) Allegiant Air suspended service in 2008‐2009 (2) Vision Air does not fly into the state anymore
Table 4‐2: Destinations
Destination Columbia
Metropolitan Airport
Florence Regional Airport
Myrtle Beach International
Airport
Charleston AFB/
International
Greenville Spartanburg International
Hilton Head Island Airport
Allentown (PA) x
Atlanta x x x x x
Atlantic City x
Baltimore x
Boston x
Charleston (WV) x
Charlotte x x x x x x
Chicago O'Hare x x x x x Midway x x
Cincinnati x
Cleveland x
Dallas/Ft. Worth x x x x
Detroit x x x x x
Ft. Lauderdale x x
Ft. Wayne x
Houston x x x x
Huntington (WV) x
Knoxville x
Latrobe (PA) x
Miami x
New York LGA x x x x x
Newark x x x x
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Destination Columbia
Metropolitan Airport
Florence Regional Airport
Myrtle Beach International
Airport
Charleston AFB/
International
Greenville Spartanburg International
Hilton Head Island Airport
Niagara Falls x
Orlando x
Philadelphia x x x x
Plattsburgh (NY) x
Punta Gorda x
Tampa x
Toronto x
Washington D.C. x Dulles x x x x
National x x x
Youngstown x
Source: Individual Airport websites (with verification, as needed, from airline websites)
Table 4‐3 details the airline enplanement history since the late 90’s as well as forecast enplanements
for the next 20 years. Again, it is important to note that the forecast from the SCASP was developed
prior to the economic downturn so forecasts are generally higher than they would be anticipated to be
if calculated today. That being said, it is also important to note that the planning horizon for this plan is
12 years further out than that of the 2008 statewide aviation plan (2028 vs. 2040). There are no plans
to revise the aviation plan projections for this plan and a revised statewide aviation plan is not
currently programmed.
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Table 4‐3: Commercial Service Airport Enplanements
FAA ID
Airport 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2013 2018 2028
CHS Charleston AFB/ International
789,113 784,067 833,055 793,553 791,341 804,134 912,604 1,073,307 943,305 1,084,019 1,272,386 1,379,213 1,589,563 2,010,263
GSP Greenville‐Spartanburg International
715,753 761,685 801,609 712,310 698,092 677,891 761,555 904,282 769,479 767,743 737,332 803,563 825,524 869,446
MYR Myrtle Beach International Airport
604,908 698,217 792,529 711,520 631,283 668,951 768,944 785,321 723,882 777,102 767,046 841,437 896,235 1,005,831
CAE Columbia Metropolitan Airport
538,945 556,927 600,020 531,619 497,834 508,851 635,059 729,991 642,848 633,026 629,697 733,408 797,981 927,127
HXD Hilton Head Island Airport
99,907 99,947 91,767 79,974 74,376 60,929 66,324 66,422 61,149 76,599 80,419 83,697 91,607 107,426
FLO Florence Regional Airport
60,615 56,022 49,290 43,250 42,705 40,586 43,225 52,932 45,074 47,103 47,352 55,178 60,551 71,295
Source: SCASP (South Carolina Airports System Plan – 2008)
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5. RAIL
5.1 STATE RAIL AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES There are three state agencies in South Carolina that have a direct involvement with the railroads:
Department of Transportation
– Traffic Engineering manages federal funds for highway‐rail grade crossing improvements – Preconstruction is responsible for crossings involved in construction projects, at‐grade or
grade‐separated – The Office of Railroads of the Intermodal and Freight Programs Division is responsible for
preservation of railroad rights‐of‐way, coordination of high speed and intercity rail passenger planning and development, associated funding, and submittal of plans (including a comprehensive passenger and freight state rail plan with coordination of infrastructure services with other modes of transportation every five years) and annual legislative reports as required.
– The Office of Public Transit of the same division is charged with development and coordination of a general mass transit program and policy for the implementation, operation, evaluation, and monitoring of public transit systems, funding of same and preparation of plans. The responsibility for commuter rail is held jointly with the Office of Railroads.
Department of Commerce
– Works with all the state’s rail carriers to attract new business to the state – Home to the Division of Public Railways (SCPR)
Operates three common carrier railroads in the Charleston area Provides technical assistance and consulting services to South Carolina’s governmental
bodies
Office of Regulatory Staff (ORS) is responsible for railroad and natural gas pipeline safety oversight. Railroad safety falls under the Transportation Division of the ORS
5.2 RAILROADS The freight rail system is operated by 11 different rail carriers. Two are Class I carriers, CSX
Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway, and account for 2,044 miles or 84 percent of the state
rail system, while Class III carriers or terminal companies make up the remaining 16 percent of the
system.
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The South Carolina rail system is depicted in Figure 5‐1. The carriers range in size from fairly small
intrastate railroads to members of large rail systems serving the entire eastern U.S. Of the line‐haul
railroads, two are Class I carriers8 and the remainder are Class III carriers or terminal companies. As
seen in Table 5‐1, these railroads comprise a state rail system of 2,378 miles. CSX Transportation's
(CSXT) 1,261 South Carolina route miles represent 53 percent of the statewide rail system. The Norfolk
Southern Railway (NS), with 783 route miles, is the second largest carrier in terms of South Carolina
mileage accounting for 32 percent of the state rail system.
Table 5‐1: South Carolina Freight Railroads
Railroad(1)
Route Miles of Railroad Percent of Rail System Operated(2)
Owned/Leased
Trackage Rights
Owned/Not Operated
Aiken Railway 19 0.8
Carolina Piedmont Railroad (CPDR) 34 1.5
Carolina Southern Railroad (CALA) 51 2.2
CSX Transportation (CSXT) 1,269 17 12 55.7
East Cooper & Berkeley Railroad (ECBR) 17 0.8
Greenville & Western Railway (GRLW) 13 0.6
Hampton & Branchville Railroad (HB) 40 1.8
Lancaster & Chester (LC) 60 2.7
Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) 679 104 85 28.5
Pee Dee River Railway (PDRR) 25 1.1
Pickens Railway (PICK and PKHP) 37 1.6
Port Terminal Railroad (PTR) 1 0.0
Port Utilities Commission of Charleston (PUCC) 4 0.2
South Carolina Central Railway (SCRF) 56 2.5
Totals 2,305 121 97 100.0Notes: (1)Amtrak also operates over 549 route miles in SC but does not own any mainline trackage in the state. It operates over CSXT main tracks, one through Florence and another through Columbia, from North Carolina to Georgia. Norfolk southern also hosts Amtrak trains in the upstate running between North Carolina and Georgia. (2)Owned/Leased lines less Owned/Not Operated and exclusive of trackage rights to prohibit double counting. (3)As of December 2010, Class I railroads have annual gross revenues of $398.7 million or more. These limits are updated annually to reflect inflation Sources: 2011 Class I Railroad Annual Reports to Surface Transportation Board Association of SC Railroads Association of American Railroads
8As of December 2011, Class I railroads have annual gross revenues of $433.2 million or more. Class III carriers have annual
gross revenues less than $34.7 million. These limits are updated annually to reflect inflation by the Surface Transportation
Board (STB).
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Figure 5‐1: State Rail Map
Source: 2008 South Carolina Rail Plan
NS
CS
X
LC
HB
CPD
R
CA
LA
PDRR
EC
BR
WCLR
PKHP
PICK
CALA
CSX
NS
SCRF
NS
CS
X
NS
CSX
CSX
CSX
CS
X
GR
LW
20
26
26
95
95
85
Savannah
Charlotte
Columbia
278
20
95
26
85
77
20
85
526
185
520
526
52
17
501
278
321
178
78
21
521176
221
1
25
378
601
701
401
15
123
321
176
76
76
29
15
21
21
301
17
1
52
521
278
176
76
25
17
21
521
378
25
521
321
123
15
17
701
221
501
301
25
21
78
25
521
321
76
176
1
178
52301
178
176
276
378
221
29
601
378
221176
1
521
25
21
301521
601Georgia
North Carolina
0 25 5012.5Miles
At l a
n t i cO c e a n
Legend
Rail Road:
CSX
NS
Short-Line
Out of Service
Cities
County Boundary
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5.3 RAIL PASSENGER SERVICE South Carolina is fortunate when compared to some states in that it has four trains (actually eight
when trains in both north and south bound directions are counted) operating over three routes all
owned by freight railroads (one NS, two CSXT) all of which
connect the South with the Northeast. Figure 5‐2
illustrates the locations of the three routes as well as
Amtrak stops in the state. The four daily trains that travel
through the state are:
Silver Star – New York/Tampa/Miami via Columbia, Silver Meteor – New York/Miami via Charleston, Palmetto – New York/Savannah via Charleston, and Crescent – New York/New Orleans via Greenville.
With the exception of the Palmetto, Amtrak trains pass
through the state in evening or early morning hours,
which tends to discourage riders. In addition, Amtrak on‐time performance suffers from running over
privately owned freight railroads with the ever present operating conflicts. Current South Carolina
schedules are shown in Table 5‐2.
In addition, Amtrak’s Auto Train also passes through the state on the easternmost route, but does not
stop in South Carolina. The only stops it makes are at its two end points, Lorton, Virginia and Sanford,
Florida.
Table 5‐2: Amtrak South Carolina Schedule
Train Service Operating Between SC Stops Schedule
SB NB
Crescent New York‐Atlanta‐
New Orleans
SpartanburgGreenville Clemson
4.14A 4:54A 5:39A
11:39P10:53P 10:16P
Silver Star New York‐Washington‐
Miami
CamdenColumbia Denmark
12:50A 1:44A 2:41A
4:49A4:08A 2:53A
Silver Meteor New York‐Washington‐
Miami
FlorenceKingstree Charleston Yemassee
3:20A 4:05A 5:06A 5:56A
11:20P10:17P 9:23P 8:27P
Palmetto New York‐Washington‐ Savannah
DillonFlorence Kingstree Charleston Yemassee
4:35P 5:23P 6:06P 7:15P 8:04P
12:13P11:39A 10:55A 10:00A 9:08A
Source: Amtrak, effective October 10, 2012.
Amtrak Station in Upstate South Carolina
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Figure 5‐2: South Carolina Rail Passenger Routes and Stops
Source: 2008 South Carolina Rail Plan
20
26
26
95
95
85
Savannah
Charlotte
Columbia
278
20
95
26
85
77
20
85
185
520
526
52
17
501
278
321
178
78
21
521176
221
1
25
378
601
701
401
15
123
321
176
76
76
29
15
21
21
301
17
1
52
278
176
76
25
17
21
521
378
25
321
123
15
17
701
221
501
301
25
21
78
25
521
321
76
176
1
178
52
178
176
276
378
221
29
601
378
221176
1
521
25
21
301521
601
DillonCamden
Clemson
Denmark
Florence
Columbia
Yemassee
Kingstree
Greenville
Charleston
Spartanburg
Georgia
North Carolina
0 25 5012.5Miles
At l a
n t i cO c e a n
Legend
AmTRAK Stations
Passenger Rail
Non Passenger Rail
Interstate
US Highway
Cities
County Boundary
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5.3.1 Amtrak Ridership in South Carolina
Amtrak ridership in South Carolina has risen and fallen over
the last two decades from a high of almost 250,000 in 1990
to a low of 151,985 in 1996, as shown in Figure 5‐3. The
number of current (FY2011) passengers is 240,880, which is
within 4 percent of the 1990 high.
Ridership by station for the last six years of record is shown
in Table 5‐3. In 2011, Charleston attracted the most riders,
followed by Florence, Columbia, and Greenville. The three
largest Amtrak stations in the state each experienced an
increase in passenger traffic with Charleston (22%), Florence
(19%), and Columbia (7%). The Dillon and Greenville stations
saw the largest increase in ridership with 48 percent and 43
percent growth respectively since 2006. All of the stations
saw an increase in ridership since 2006, except for the Denmark station, which saw a reduction of 6
percent.
Figure 5‐3: Amtrak Ridership in South Carolina
Note: Total passengers boarding or alighting at stations. Data are not available for 2002. Data for 2008 and 2009 are from National Association of Railroad Passengers. Source: Amtrak
0 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Amtrak Station in Columbia, South Carolina
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Table 5‐3: South Carolina Amtrak Patronage (FY2006‐2011)
City
Boardings + Alightings
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Camden 3,582 3,702 3,809 3,940 3,588 3,923
Charleston 66,272 66,655 67,049 66,867 79,806 81,180
Clemson 5,065 5,416 5,841 5,988 6,941 6,466
Columbia 34,431 34,613 37,412 36,441 36,297 36,786
Denmark 4,643 4,680 4,903 4,617 4,485 4,344
Dillon 6,393 7,461 7,693 7,126 8,463 9,490
Florence 41,643 44,828 45,992 44,384 47,344 49,569
Greenville 12,136 11,700 12,897 11,874 17,490 17,366
Kingstree 12,996 13,888 12,991 12,682 14,153 13,539
Spartanburg 4,252 4,245 4,238 4,102 4,955 4,469
Yemassee 10,790 11,762 11,599 12,064 13,516 13,748
Total 202,203 208,914 202,825 198,021 237,038 240,880Source: Amtrak
All stations are served by two daily trains with the exception of Columbia, which has only one. Station
patronage has remained relatively the same proportionally over the years, although Kingstree and
Greenville have exchanged fourth and fifth place a number of times. The maximum number of riders at
any one station for the period of record was 81,180 in Charleston in FY2011. This level now surpasses
the 73,700 in Charleston in 1991, which stood as the record for many years.